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STEREO Mission

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  1. Solar Dynamics Observatory
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  3. NASA
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Super-Fast Sun Eruption Spotted by NASA Spacecraft

A powerful sun storm in July unleashed a wave of plasma and charged particles into space, and scientists now say this solar outburst may be one of the fastest ever recorded.On July 23, the sun blasted a massive cloud of solar material, called a coronal mass ejection (CME), into space, sending it whipping by NASA's twin STEREO spacecraft. Scientists used STEREO's observations to calculate that the speedy CME was traveling between 1,800 and 2,200 miles per second (2,900 and 3,540 kilometers per second).That's about 6.48 million to 7.92 million miles per hour (10.43 million and 12.75 million kilometers per hour).The CME's blistering pace makes it the fastest one ever seen by STEREO (short for Solar TErrestrial RElations Observatory), and one of the fastest solar outbursts clocked by any spacecraft, the researchers said."Between 1,800 and 2,200 miles per second puts it without question as one of the top five CMEs ever measured by any spacecraft," C. Alex Young, a solar scientist at NASA's ...

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  1. Sun's 2013 Solar Storm Peak Expected to Hit Century Low

    The sun's peak of solar activity this year will likely be the quietest seen in at least 100 years, say NASA scientists who watch Earth's closest star daily.Sunspot n...

  2. Sun Eruption May Boost Northern Lights This Week

    A huge sun eruption on Sunday (Jan. 13) unleashed a wave of solar plasma aimed at Earth that may amplify the planet's northern lights displays later this week, NASA ...

  3. Roots of huge solar explosions? 'Cavities'

    Scientists seeking to better understand and predict massive solar eruptions are zeroing in on mysterious cavities in the sun's outer atmosphere, or corona.These coro...

  4. Comet baffles NASA scientists

    Survives brush with sun's atmosphere

  5. How to Safely Observe Sunday's Solar Eclipse

    With a potentially spectacular solar eclipse to grace the skies of the western United States on Sunday (May 20), here's a helpful reminder for new eclipse chasers: B...

  6. Comet's Kamikaze Dive Into Sun During Solar Storm

    A sun-watching spacecraft has recorded views of an ill-fated comet plunging into the sun just after a huge solar eruption — the second time in 10 days that a comet d...

  7. Mysterious Geminid Meteor Shower -- Best Sky Show of the Year

    The upcoming Geminid meteor shower next week may promise to be the best sky show of the year, but for many scientists it's a space light show shrouded in mystery.Sky...

  8. New Sun Eruption May Supercharge Northern Lights

    The luminous aurora displays that make up Earth's northern lights may get a boost Monday night from a fresh eruption on the sun. Skywatchers in the northern latitude...

  9. Year's Best Meteor Shower Peaks This Week

    Stargazers are about to get their annual celestial treat: A bright meteor shower, the Geminids, will grace skies worldwide this week, with a peak in activity on Thur...

  10. Sun's 'Birthday Candle'-Like Gas Plumes Surprise Scientists

    They say there's nothing new under the sun, but there is something completely new on it. For the first time, giant pillars of gas that light up and flame out "like c...

  11. Earth unprepared for super solar storm

    Humanity needs to be much better prepared for massive solar storms, which can wreak havoc on our technology-dependent society, a prominent researcher warns.Powerful ...

  12. Major Solar Flare Erupts, May Make Auroras Visible in Northern U.S.

    The sun unleashed another major solar flare Wednesday, a solar storm so powerful it could spawn dazzling northern lights displays that could be visible from even New...

  1. NASA Releases First 360-Degree View of Entire Sun

    NASA has released the first 360-degree view of the entire sun today, just in time for Super Bowl Sunday.The photo comes courtesy of NASA's twin STEREO ( Solar TErres...

  2. Space Radiation Poses Serious Obstacle to Future NASA Missions

    NASA's goal of returning astronauts to the Moon by 2020 and pushing on to Mars will require significant strides in both understanding and warding off hazardous space...

  3. Science Behind NASA's 360-Degree Image of Sun

    NASA video explains how they achieved first-ever video of entire sun

  4. NASA Releases First 3D Images of the Sun

    NASA released the first three-dimensional images of the sun Monday, saying the photos taken from twin spacecraft may lead to better predictions of solar eruptions th...

  5. Solar -Flare Surprise: Pure Hydrogen Shot at Earth

    A surprising solar flare sent a stream of pure hydrogen at Earth."We've detected a stream of perfectly intact hydrogen atoms shooting out of an X-class solar flare,"...

  6. Huge Solar Explosions Can Rock the Entire Sun

    On August 1, an entire hemisphere of the sun erupted.Violent explosions on the sun erupt on a phenomenal scale – one that envelopes the entire star – and are linked ...

  7. NASA unveils patchwork solar quilt

    This quilt will keep you warm -- it's about 11 million degrees Fahrenheit.The space agency's colorful images of the sun rarely resemble the yellowish, featureless di...

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